‘Bottomless pit’ Prasa turns to public for protection

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) runaway train and its carriages of delayed projects are only expected to see the light at the end of the tunnel late this year, as the agency pushes to raise their standards to almost acceptable.

Yesterday, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula joined Prasa chair Leonard Ramatlakane and other stakeholders to launch a volunteer People’s Responsibility to Protect project in Pretoria.

“We need to get the trains back on the tracks,” Mbalula said, noting there was “a revolution happening at Prasa”.

“Everything has been broken and now we are fixing it.”

In the meanwhile, there has been little or no progress in the R172-billion Prasa modernisation project launched in 2014.

By 2019, only one of 135 “priority stations” had been upgraded.

“It is a work in progress currently and forms part of things the minister said must start happening,” Ramatlakane said about the many station platforms which were still too low for the new generation of trains.

He said the vandalism of stations was currently the priority. Mbalula added the department did have a plan.

“The plan has not been implemented until now.

“There is a lot of work still coming and implemented.”

It was a big project to get trains running again after the service was shut down in lockdown level 5.

“Not all things will be done by May, but you will see change,” he said. “The first change is going to be the security and rebuilding of the fallen stations.”

Prasa did not have a board and had become a bottomless pit.

“Prasa needs to partly generate its own revenue,” he added.

The members of the communities participating in the PRASA people’s Responsibility to Protect programme lining up at the Pretoria Station ahead of Minister Fikile Mbalula’s address, 15 March 2021, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles

Mbalula said the volunteer project was an important milestone because a lot of stations had been vandalised and damaged.

“These stations will be rebuilt … and all 236 stations in Gauteng will have this project.”

Mbalula also referred to the Mabopane station, where President Cyril Ramaphosa was caught in a breakdown for hours on a tour.

“That is one of our top projects where we will be spending over R1 billion to get the service back and to redo the infrastructure.” He added that an additional3 100 security guards would be employed to protect the stations.

“It is not only the place and the infrastructure that’s going to be guarded, but also our people from pickpockets and tricksters in the trains. Now we are going to clean them out.”

Mbalula concluded the volunteer programme was bringing the department closer to the communities.

Ramatlakane said about 5 000 volunteers would form part of the project once it was rolled out in full, with 10 volunteers “placed at each station, working in an integrated web with police and security of Prasa”.

He added each volunteer would be trained in security and receive certificates.

Mamelodi resident Reuben Letlape represented the Mamelodi United Commuters Voice for safety and security and said he was happy about the project.

“I wanted to apply to be a volunteer but was turned down because I am over-aged – I am 65 years old. “I believe this project will help keep the infrastructure of the stations.”

marizkac@citizen.co.za

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